Link and lever controlled slidable jaw wrench



Aug; 10, 1954 H. WOLBAUM 2,635,810

LINK-AND LEVER CONTROLLED SLIDABLE JAW WRENCH Filed Oct. 9, 1951 v 2 Sheets-Sheet l if). u um um WII all 6,3

INVENTOR HARRY WoLaAuM Z/f-W/mwflmm 19mm 4 ATTORNEYS Aug. 10, 1954 H. WOLBAUM 2,635,310

LINK AND LEVER CONTROLLED SLIDABLE JAW WRENCH Filed oct. 9, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR HARRY WOLBAUM Patented Aug. 10, 1954 LQINK AND LEVER CONTROLLED SLIDABLE JAW WRENCH Harry Wolbaurn, Bismarck, N. Dak. Application o toter 9, 1951, Serial No. 250,446

This invention relates to hand tools, and more particularly to improvements in wrenches. 1

A main object of the invention is tovprovide a novel and improved wrench which. is simple in construction, which is easy to adjust, and which may be employed either as a'pipe Wrench, or as a monkey wrench.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved wrench which is inexpensive to manufacture, which is rugged in construction, which is easy to manipulate, and which involves relatively few parts.

Further objects and advantages of the. invention will become apparent from the following description and claims, and from the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view Wlth'POItiOIlS of the lower jaw removed of an improved combination wrench constructed'in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the wrench of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken on the line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal cross sectional view taken on the line 4--4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is an enlarged side elevational detail view of the movable jaw member of the wrench of Figures 1 to 4.

Figure 6 is a cross sectional view taken on the line EL-6 of Figure 5.

Figure '7 is an enlarged cross sectional detail view taken on the line 1-'i of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a perspective detail View of a modified set of jaw elements which may be employed with the wrench of Figures 1 to 7 on objects wherein it is desired to prevent marring or scratching of the surfaces of the objects to be clamped, one of the jaw elements being shown with a portion of its rubber liningbroken away.

Referring to the drawings, the wrench is designated generally at and comprises an elongated main body member I2 having secured to one end thereof the handle I3 and being formed at its opposite end with the arm. I4 projecting at right angles ,to the main portion of body I2, as shown in Figure 1. Designated at I5 is a channel-shaped jaw element which receives the arm M and is detachably secured thereto by means of the transverse bolts I6, I6.v The jaw element I5 is formed with the transversely extending serrations or teeth I1, defining a jaw face, and with a depending endtooth I8, allowing the jaw to be hooked V IClaim. (01. 81-88) ill Designated at is a body provided with a sec-- ond jaw 2|, the jaw body or jaw being mounted on the main bar I2 for sliding movement toward and away from the first jaw I 5. The second jaw 2| is opposed to the first jaw I5, and has an inclined top surface 22 inclined outwardly and away from parallelism with the first jaw I 5, as is clearly shown in Figures 1 and 4. Slidably mounted on the jaw 2| and receiving the same is the channel-shaped jaw face 23 whose main body portion tapers outwardly in thickness, as clearly shown in Figure 4, and which is provided on its top surface with the transverse serrations or teeth 24 arranged parallel to the teeth I? on the stationary jaw I5. The side flanges of the channel-shaped jaw face 23 are formed with slots 25 extending parallel to the surface 22, and engaged in the second jaw 2| and extending through said slots are the headed screws 26 acting to retain the jaw face 23 on the jaw 2| but allowing said jaw face to move along the inclined surface 22. The tapered body portion of the jaw face 23 is formed with 21. depending pin 2'! which is received in a cavity 28 formed in the jaw 2| and arranged to limit movement of the jaw face 23 along the jaw 2 I.

The end portion of the jaw 2| is formed with bores 29 in which are slidably positioned headed pin 39, the headsof said pins being designated at 3| and being biased downwardly, as viewed in Figure 7, by coil springs 32 encircling the shanks of the pins and bearing between heads 3| and the overlying jaw face 23. The bottom surface of the jaw face 23 is formed with recesses 34 in which the end of each pin is receivable, as shown in Figure 7, to lock the jaw face in a fixed position on the jaw 2|. The detent pins 30 may be held in looking position by means of a pivoted clip member 35 rotatably secured to the bottom surface of jaw 2| by a headed screw 36 extending through a slot 31 formed in the arched clip 35, as clearly shown in Figure '7. The clip 35 is formed of spring metal and has its rear end 33 abutting the bottom surface of the jaw 2|. The fiatforward end 39 of the clip is engageable with the ends of heads 3| to hold said heads in fully housed positions in the bores 29 and to maintain the ends of pins 30 in looking engagement inthe recesses 34. To release the pins 30, it is merely necessary to rotate the clip 35 away from the position thereof shown in Figure 7, whereby the heads 3| will be allowed to descend under the biasing force of springs 32, disengaging pins 30 from recesses 34 and releasing the jaw element 23.

As will be presently explained, when the jaw face 23 is released, the wrench may be employed as a conventional Stilson or pipe wrench, and when the jaw face 23 is locked in fixed position on the jaw 2|, the wrench may be employed as a monkey wrench.

Designated at if; is a sleeve member slidably engaged on the bar |2 and formed with the spaced arms ii and 52. The rear margin of bar I2 is formed with the rack teeth 43. Rotatably mounted on a pin member M secured in the arms i! and 52 parallel to the bar I2 is a worm 45 meshingly engaged with the rack teeth 43, as is clearly shown in Figures 1 and 4. Designated at at is a lever member pivotally connected at 41 to the movable jaw body 2% and formed with the offset handle portion :8. Designated at $9 is a link bar pivotally connected to the sleeve member 49 at 5t and pivotally connected to the intermediate portion of lever 4% at 5!, as shown in Figure 1. Threadedly engaged in the link bar 39 is the stop screw whose head is arranged to abut the forward surface of the bar 82. The screw 52 may be adjusted so that the head thereof will engage the bar :2 when the lever 26 has been rotated to a position just beyond dead center in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 1, whereby the linkage will be locked with the jaws of the wrench tightly engaged with the object to be gripped.

When an object is to be gripped by the wrench,

as for example, a round object such as a pipe 59, the object is first engaged beneath the hook. jaw |5, the lever M3 is swung inwardly until. the head of screw 52 abuts bar l2, and the worm 45 is rotated until the jaw face 23 engages the bottom surface of the object |9. The handle itmay then be swung outwardly, and the worm =25 may then be rotated further for an amount depending upon the degree of tightness of the desired gripping action. The handle 48 may then be swung inwardly, causing the linkage defined by members 46 and d9 to be rotated past their dead center positions, as above described, wherein the head of screw 52 abuts bar 12, causing the jaw faces ii and as to tightly engage on the object It. In the case of a round object, such as the pipe ii), the slidable jaw face 23' may be left free to move along the inclined surface 22, and the wrench may be employed as a pipe wrench, whereby the gripping action of the jaw elements is increased as torque is applied to the handle l3 by the wedging action provided when the movable jaw face 22 is forced inwardly on the inclined surface 22. However, should it be desired to employ the wrench as a monkey wrench, the jaw face 23 may be locked in stationary position relative to the jaw 2i by employing the clip 35 to hold the pins 39 in interlocking engagement with recess 34 in the manner above described, whereby face 23 is held against movement relative to the jaw 2 l Figure 8 illustrates a pair of jaw elements l5 and '23 which may be employed in place of the jaw faces i1 and 23 of Figure 1 when the device is to be employed for gripping surfaces, such as polished metal surfaces, wherein marring or scratching of the surfaces must be avoided. The upper jaw element is provided with a gripping surface member 60 which may be formed of rubber or similar deformable resilient material and the lower jaw element 23' is similarly provided with a gripping surface member 6| of rubber or similar material. The gripping elements 60 and 6| clampingly engage the object to be held and may engage said object with any desired degree of tightness, determined by the adjustment of the worm 15 in the manner above described, without marring or scratching the surfaces of the object thus held. When it is desired to employ the device merely as a pipe wrench, the clip 35 and its fastening screw 36 may be omitted, as well as the pins 30 and their biasing springs 32, as shown for example in Figures 1 and 2.

In order to provide a balanced detent action on the movable jaw face 23, a pair of locking pins 39 are preferably provided, spaced symmetrically on opposite sides of the longitudinal center line of the jaw 2|, as shown in Figure 6, the clip 35 being of sufficient width to simultaneously engage the head portion 3| of both pins 39, 3-0.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the movable jaw face 23 is biased inwardly by a coiled spring 62 which bears between the depending pin element 27 and a machine screw 93 threaded through the end of the arm jaw 2|. If so desired, the spring 62 may be removed by merely removing the screw 63, whereby the jaw face 23 is free to slide on the jaw 2| over a range of movement determined by the length of the recess 23. However, the spring 62 is preferably employed to bias the jaw face 23 inwardly, since said spring acts to urge the jaw element into gripping position at all times, assuming that the worm 55 has been properly adjusted with respect to the object to be gripped.

While a specific embodiment of an improved combination wrench device has been disclosed in the foregoing description, it will be understood that various modifications within the spirit of the invention may occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended that no limitations be placed on the invention except as defined by the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A. wrench comprising an elongated body memher, a first jaw projecting laterally from said member and rigidly secured to said member, a second jaw projecting laterally from said member and opposing said first jaw and mounted on said member for sliding movement toward and away from said first jaw, a link and lever mechanism operatively connected to said second jaw for controlling the limit of movement of said second jaw toward said first jaw and locking said second jaw in such limit of movement position, a jaw face superimposed upon said second jaw and connected to said second jaw for movement toward and away from said member, said second aw being provided with a longitudinally extending cavity in the part facing said first jaw, a pin depending from said jaw element and extendin into said cavity, and spring means carried by said second jaw and bearing against said pin for biasing said jaw face toward said member.

Eeforences Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,083,607 Flora et a1 Jan. 6, 1914 1,392,238 Stewart Sept. 27, 1921 1,423,793 Green July 25, 1922 2,450,791 Hagen Oct. 5, 1948 2,495,699 Clark Jan. 31, 1950 2,594,684 Rothe Apr. 29, 1952 2,618,188 Emmett Nov. 18, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 22,838 Great Britain Oct. 3, 1910 420,678 France Nov. 30, 1910 

